All I Want for Christmas
by hts911
Summary: Its easy to share simple wishes, yet this list is not for that show. Put down your desires, the ones you wish for no one to know. I'll pick my favorites and grant them to you and if all works out you may learn something too.
1. Prologue

**AN: I should probably be working on my other stories right now, but I'm too much in the holiday spirit. So alas, I am opening a Christmas story, which I hope to have finished before the 25****th**** (or else I'll just post the last chapter on that day). There will be romance and family and friends and really just the spreading of cheer. So I hope you guys enjoy. Now I shall let the story begin with song that inspired this whole thing.**

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><p><strong>I don't want a lot for Christmas<strong>

**There is just one thing I need**

**I don't care about the presents**

**Underneath the Christmas tree**

**I just want you for my own**

**More than you could ever know**

**Make my wish come true**

**All I want for Christmas**

**Is you**

**-Mariah Carey: All I Want for Christmas is You**

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><p><em>Christmas, one of the happiest times around the world <em>

_Loved and cherished by man, woman, boy, and girl._

_There are presents and Santa, family and cheer_

_It's truly the most wonderful time of the year._

_People spreading good will to everyone,_

_Wishing for all to feel the shining Christmas fun._

_The rhythm and rhyming and movies are all good_

_But what it all comes down to, is what you'd ask for if you could._

_So I bring you these stories of Christmas all round_

_I show how lives intertwine with great sound._

_Different wishes, different gifts, with one thing they all share:_

_People wanting to use this Christmas to show that they care._

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><p>It was truly a bustling day at the mall. Or really, just a bustling and up moving season. December 20th, quite close to the 25th and all the late shoppers were out looking for gifts. There were crying children, rushing mothers, and of course their poor lovers who were stuck carrying the bags. Santa and his elves were all set up, a couple of different hot cocoa stands were booming with business and it seemed as if the madness failed to cease.<p>

Yet, alone in the corner of a quaint little bookshop, the hoopla came to a freeze. And in that corner was something quite mysterious, a calling of sorts. Christmas Wishes the giant notepad read, beckoning for all to share what lay on their hearts. There was the obvious, the material things, but when it all came down to it, the most important ones were those that no one dared to speak out loud. Those were the most special wishes contained.

All of the postings were anonymous, save for the fact that there was a man silently watching the whole time from behind a bookshelf. He staked out the little set up every day of December watching each nervous shopper creep up to the list, not wanting anyone they knew to see what their hearts truly held. But with a little push, this hidden mastermind was sure he could catch a little of that Santa Clause-esque magic.

At the end of this 20th day of December, the list came down, taken to the back of his office to be reviewed by his genius eyes. He wrote the owner's name by each wish he planned to grant, settling his numbers to a simple few. He then remade his list, checked it twice, and with sureness in his mind, the deal was set. He would redeem his year of wrongdoings with these kind acts and finally remove his permanent stance on Santa's bad side.

**What do you want for Christmas?**

Ichigo Kurosaki: "To have a normal, average, and boring holiday just like everyone else."

Yuzu Kurosaki: "For my dad to try not to cook anything so we won't have to buy a new oven…again."

Karin Kurosaki: "Diddo."

Rukia Kuchiki: "For brother to have a good Christmas."

Byakuya Kuchiki: "A moment of freedom."

Renji Abarai: "A family to spend it with."

Matsumoto Rangiku: "An awesome party…Christian Louboutin shoes…tons of sake…fancy shampoo…oh yeah, and a girlfriend for my captain (we all knows he could benefit from one of those)."

Toshiro Hitsugaya: "I want my vice captain to actually do some work."

Orihime Inoue: "A new cookbook."

Ulquiorra Schiffer: "Christmas is for trash, but I suppose I could make an exception. I would like to know such purpose of this thing referred to as a heart."

Pesche and Dondochakka: "To spread tons of Christmas cheer!"

Neliel Tu Odelschwank: "For Grimmy to stop being such a scrooge!"

Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez: "What I want for Christmas, eh? I want _her._ But until that happens, nothing will make me happier than the holiday being removed from existence."

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><p><strong>AN: So there goes the prelude. Drop a review or whatever things like that you choose to do.<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: I think this may be the longest chapter I've ever written for any story ever. Anyways, I've came to a decision on the whole categorizing of this story. The labels for that will change with every chapter seeing as each chapter is sort of like a new story in itself. So here we have some IchiRuki going on with the theme of family tied in here. And please take notice to the changes I've made to the prologue (which I have edited and changed Ichigo's wish on so it fits better). Anyways, enjoy the chapter.**

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><p>It was snowing, the little flakes streaming down from the sky, lost in their short little lives. They landed in Ichigo Kuroskai's bright orange hair, contrasting against the bold color before melting in and flattening the spiky strands. Cold puffs of air came out with every breath he took, one thought resonating within his mind. 'I'd rather be anywhere but here.'<p>

"Cheer up son! We're here to go SHOPPING!"

The shout of encouragement flew into his ear painfully, originating from none other than his nut case of a father, Isshin. At this point, any normal person would be trying to hush the man for the sake of their reputation. By now he had gotten used to the more eccentric acts, though that never stopped him from trying to shut the man up for fear of being forcibly removed from _another_ place of private property.

He issued a quick and curt 'shut up old man' to his father allowing one of his sisters, Karin, to deal with his father's tear filled antic and cries of how his own family treated him so cruelly, much to the chagrin of her twin, Yuzu. He left the trio behind, making his way into the warmth of the giant shopping center, looking for a nice place to hide out while his family partook in their yearly shopping activities.

Aimlessly he strolled the mall, gazing at the overdone window displays. Green and red and gold; the usual. Giant pictures of Santa and reindeer displays immaculately placed next to mannequins displaying some of the world's ugliest Christmas sweaters. It failed to surprise him at this point, seeing as it was pretty much the same old thing every year. He already knew he was going to walk in that store, buy the monstrosity for his father, and then move on with his life pretending that he wasn't even aware that the store in question ever existed.

As predicted, he came out 5 minutes later, bag in hand, trying to blend in among all the other various shoppers (a feat made even more challenging due to his distinctive hair color). The show went on until he noticed that nobody who he really cared about seeing him in such a predicament was here and all the others would be too intimidated to speak out to him about it. This could have been seen as a good thing, but really, it had long since grown old.

Nothing about him seemed to be normal whether it be the obnoxious color of his hair, the obnoxious manners portrayed by his dad, or the messed up family dynamic that went on in his home. And ever since the death of his mother this had only seemed to grow even worse. At that moment he came to one conclusion: life sucks. And all those holly-jolly shoppers around him weren't doing anything to help his case.

Free Hot Chocolate With Every Purchase of $15! It was the sign that seemed to come barreling into his face, interrupting him from his mindless stroll. He felt the pain in his nose, questioning what had just happened before reaching his hand out only to meet the most rock solid surface he'd ever had the displeasure to run into. It was odd though, seeing as he'd been pretty sure there hadn't been any walls in front of him, or at least not any that he was close enough to run into. It was even odder how long it took him to realize that the wall he was stroking in curiosity was actually a human body, belonging to a giant man in front of him who was a threatening as the image of the Hulk to a little girl.

Immediately he leaped back 5 paces, hands raised up to signal that he didn't want to start any trouble, eyes looking the other way as if there would be some message sent down from the heavens to help him out of the predicament he'd voluntarily put himself into. When he finally worked up the courage to look back up at the man he broke into a cold sweat. The man wasn't just huge, he was unnaturally buff. And not in that 'I take steroids like their going out of style' kind of way but more so in the way that says 'I just spent 13 hours pumping iron at the gym. I'm taking a break by holding this sign, but you better believe I'll be bench pressing that minivan parked out front when my shift ends.'

The sunglass covered eyes stared him down with great scrutiny before hands the size of toddlers pushed the sign closer to his face, easily sending across the message to him that he needed to go there, immediately spend at least $15 at Benihime Books, and gather his free cup of cocoa lest he face some cruel form of punishment. The giant hand pointed to his left directing him to the store. In a moment of fear, he stumbled before inching over into the bookstore and quickly disappearing inside.

He checked over his shoulder once, then twice before letting out a sigh of relief, considering himself to finally be safe from any harm. With that threat out of the way he observed the atmosphere around him, taking in the light hardwood floors and the everlasting Japanese style water fountain over in the corner. The bookshelves were arranged sporadically around the shop in what seemed to be an unplanned pattern as if someone had just pushed the cases in and go tired before they got to the whole setting up part and decided to leave everything as is. Over in the far right corner there was a little café-like nook that he supposed was where he was supposed to get his free cup of cocoa from.

Silently shuddering from the memory of the whole reason he was here, Ichigo vaguely began to ponder on whether or not there was actually any book he needed enough to pay $15 for just so he could get some free hot cocoa to save himself from a very probable pounding. There wasn't anything in particular he wanted to read and he was pretty sure there wasn't anything there that would really catch the eye of his father of Karin. Of course there was Yuzu, who he'd yet to purchase a present for seeing as she was much more girly than her twin.

The problem with the shopping was that she _was_ much more girl than anyone in the family. Girls like clothes, he knew that, but he didn't know what size she wore. Get her the wrong one and it could be taken as an insult to her body and send her into tears. Go through the laundry to find out the size and…well, he didn't know where the laundry ever was until it showed up on his bed, clean and folded. He could've got her jewelry, but that'd been too expensive if he didn't want to get her something crappy. Make-up, she'd like make-up, but in his mind, that was obviously an automatic color, since he'd walked in on some girl going off on her dad for suggesting make-up that was 'most definitely _not_ her color.' Her _"color"._ What did that even _mean_? He didn't know, but he knew enough to not try and find out.

And then, like an angel had been watching him from above, the idea for the perfect give came to him. Well actually it was sitting right in front of him on a random bookshelf with the label 'Cookbooks' hanging over top. Yuzu liked cooking almost as much as everyone in the family liked her robbing them of the terror that was being forced to touch the stove. So why not get her a cookbook so she could explore her talents as she so pleased. He roamed the section for a bit before settling on a book combining recipes from all over the world so his sister could test out her skills in the international ranges of cuisine.

With that taken care of, his next stop was the register that was being run by some hothead kid who was obviously trying to start a fight with him. Red hair slicked back into some sort of half cone half Grease imitation, the boy was a sight to behold. At first he didn't know that the boy actually worked here, writing him off as one of the employee's kids, but the boy kept insisting and by the time he'd finally shut up he was ready to knock him one. He refrained, snatching away his cocoa coupon and stalking off to the other side of the room.

He was steaming, barely paying any attention to where he was going until he nearly tripped, shaken by the abrupt rapping of wood. In front of him was an easel of sorts with a giant pad of paper on top. It was rocking back and forth from the force dealt to it by his light blow. Hand reaching out to steady it, he took a moment to check out what it was.

"It's easy to share simple wishes, yet this list is not for that show. Put down your desires, the ones you wish for no one to know," Ichigo read aloud. "I'll pick my favorites and grant them to you and if all works out you may learn something too….What do you want for Christmas?"

The last was in bold, poorly written scrawl that was both intimidating and inviting, an imaginary arrow pointing to the filled lines below it. 'A new job. A place to stay for the night. For the world to accept me.' The list went on. It was sappy and sappy wasn't really his thing. While he could think of a couple of things worth wishing for, he was pretty sure a list like that wasn't his cup of tea.

He turned, ready to go put his cocoa coupon to use, when from the store window, he catches a glimpse of his father. The man seemed to have bought another one of his ridiculous holiday sweaters and was singing obnoxiously, trying to convince others to join in with him. A few feet to his right was a blushing Yuzu, trying to coax her dad into calming down and on his right was Karin who seemed adamant on trying to convince the public that she'd never met the man before in her life.

Face in his hand in shame, Ichigo let out a sigh. _Why him?_ Why did all of this random stuff always happen to him? There had to be other people besides him in the world who were related to someone who acted like that. It couldn't just be him, could it?

Retreat. Retreat. The words played out easily in his mind, coaxing him to back further into the store to avoid the situation altogether, only to bump into that stupid easel once more. He took a look at that easel, then the pen attached at, then to the scene taking place outside of the stores window and back before finally coming to his decision. Hand reaching out, he firmly grasped the pen in his fingers writing down his wish for Christmas on the first clear line he could find.

**What do you want for Christmas?** _To have a normal, average, and boring holiday just like everyone else._

Another minute is spent examining that wish closely, making sure that it is exactly what he had hoped of it and when he sees his father's theatrics still continuing, he's sure his mind's in the right place. From there he decides to wait it out in the café corner until things calmed down.

The girl at the counter is young, just like the boy at the register. She's timid and he feels bad for thinking that she somehow reminds him of a shy butterfly or cockroach. Her voice is soft as she asks for his order, before she turns around to place it.

"Ichigo?" he heard from somewhere to his left. "What are you doing here?"

He looked over to his left and saw nothing, then to his right, confused until a harsh kick is delivered to his shin. A hiss escapes him as he leans to grab onto the bruised limb, finally catching sight of the owner of the voice he'd heard.

"Don't play as if you didn't see me, jerk!" came the rude exclamation from his rather…vertically challenged classmate, Rukia Kuchiki.

"I didn't see you," he let out easily, a slow smirk beginning to form on his face. "You're so short you don't tend to be in my range of vision. My eyes just scan right over you. Maybe if you worked on being less of a midget-"

He was cut off by another blow, this one to his arm, as she glared up at him. "I am_ not_ short! And I most definitely will _not _be referred to as a midget!"

"Well don't go lying to yourself, attempting to convince people that you're tall. You need to set the truth free," he said slowly, watching the anger on her face grow, finding some sort of sadistic joy in how worked up she was getting over the attack on her height. He was pretty sure she was about to pop him another one, but she was cut off by the girl at the counter announcing their orders as being finished.

Her attention was immediately reverted, as she gave him one last glare before turning to give the girl at the counter a sickly sweet 'thank you very much' and leaving to sit at a table with her drink. He rolled his eyes at the front that everyone seemed to be crazy enough to believe before going to pick up his drink himself.

On an impulse, he took the seat across from her sipping slowly in case she wanted to try to make any sort of sudden attack that could possibly lead to him being scorched by a very hot liquid. When he felt it was safe, he relaxed watching her eyebrow raise in question.

"So you never answered me," she said. "What are you here for? I know it can't be because you're looking for a good book to read. All the words would most likely override the processor in your brain."

He fought the instinct to shoot back an insult, but was unable to resist, leading to a dry, "Har-har-har. It's nice to know you think you're so funny, Rukia. But I guess if you didn't, who else would?" She sent him a harsh glare, giving the idea to probably answer the question, lest she unleash her midget rage. "And I _do_ read books, thank you very much. And _no_, I they are not the kinds that have pictures on every page. But this is not a visit for me. I got a cookbook for Yuzu." He held up the bag, waving it slightly, before sitting it back down on the table. "And you're here because?"

At this she looked taken back and, dare he even think it, somewhat embarrassed face flushing slightly. She looked around sketchily for a few moments before coughing into her fist and regaining some of her composure. "I too was purchasing a gift."

He raised an eyebrow in question, too amused by her level of discomfort. "And this gift _is_?"

"None of your business, that's what!" she snapped back. Now she was really making him curious.

"Come on. I know your taste in skills isn't that great but it's nothing to be _embarrassed _about."

"Oh, _shut up_!"

"I know! It's for _me_ isn't it?"

She snorted slightly. "As if. You don't even _read_."

He overlooked the jab at his intelligence, leaning in further. "Then what do you have to hide?"

"_Nothing!"_ And despite this her hands were clutching the bag closer to her chest than he thought would be humanly possible. She slid further back in her chair, tilting more and more as the threat of him approaching the bag grew until his hand was less than an inch away and her chair was tilted back, wobbling unsteadily on one leg, barely balanced on with one toe.

With that image in his brain, he had to let her off easy, unable to keep up his serious façade, breaking out into laughter at the situation. "I give, I give," he let out between laughter. "Keep your secrets, I don't care."

She looked up at him suspiciously before dropping her chair back onto all four of its legs and picking up her cocoa to take a careful sip. He watched in minor interest before beginning to finish off his drink too. From there, they kept up easy and idle chatter about random topics before leaving the store and walking out into the sea of shoppers who were cluttering around what seemed to be some big scene happening in the area.

"What do you think's going on?" Rukia asked him, and Ichigo had a bad feeling he knew what this was.

They made their way to the center, jostled by the crowd, until they came to the front, pushed out by the people behind them, forcing them to the ground. He landed on his knees with Rukia less lucky and on her stomach, gazing angrily at the crowd before reaching for her fallen bag. Ichigo helped her to her feet, picking up his dropped shopping goods in the process before finally confirming his inner anxieties.

There in the center of the circle stood an enthusiastic Kurosaki Isshin, trying to convince the mall cop into caroling with him. It was an argument that was one sided for both of participants whether it be the irritated cries of, "Either buy your stuff or leave! You ain't gotta go home, but there is _no way_ you gonna be stayin' here!" or the enthusiastic ones of, "Carol with me! You're stressed and I'm a _doctor_! I know what's good for you! Carol with me!"

For a moment Ichigo watched in horror, before looking away in shame. "Why can't I just have a _normal, average, and boring_ holiday for once?" he asked to himself, for before stalking of to go help his sisters "coax" their father out of the mall.

Later that night it seemed to have gotten worse, along with his father's desire to go caroling. The man had the holiday channel streaming out the radio full blast and had bought costumes and antlers and elf hats and was trying to get them to wear them. Of course his first target was Yuzu, poor, poor Yuzu, who wore the antlers so he'd calm down, which was a fruitless tactic. In the end Karin ended up with matching antlers, and he was stuck unhappily wearing an elf hat, listening to his father's obnoxious cries due to his family's unwillingness to participate in "holiday fun" with him.

The knock on the door was a sign of good luck to Ichigo when it came. His good karma from all of those people he never beat up when they irritated him must have been kicking in, and boy did it come at a good time. His father seemed to have missed it, so really it was a three way battle between him and his sister to see who could get to the door first. It was obvious that he'd win.

He swung the door open with great force when he got to it, listening to the soft groans of defeat with a flush of brotherly pride until he noticed who it was. Rukia Kuchiki. She looked up at him, curiosity growing as her face as the sounds of his home's activities became more apparent.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked, though she was already pushing in as if she owned the place. And it would really be a waste to deny her the opportunity to do that once his family had seen who it was, and that was easy to notice as he could effortlessly hear the cries of "my third daughter has come to see me!' in the background.

For the next five minutes she was jostled around by his family with their over enthusiastic greetings in which she was treated like the long lost daughter they'd all hoped to have over him. Of course he wasn't jealous of that, seeing as how they had an odd way of making people feel welcome. At least she enjoyed the whole process.

It wasn't until things had settled down that he felt it right to get to the point. "What do you need?" he asked, already knowing that even her 'just-because' visits had ulterior motives. She never came if there wasn't something she wanted, be that want something that was tangible or not.

"I came for the present I bought. We must have switched bags at the mall," she said.

"Switched at the mall…"

"Yes." She held the bag up to his face in her dainty hands, before thrusting it forcefully into his arms. "Now switch back."

He nearly stumbled back a bit, not because it was a strong push or anything, you know, because he was startled and all. Yeah, startled. "_Thanks Ichigo for giving me my top secret gift back. You're such a nice guy and deserve way more respect then I give you, seeing as a treat you like my lap dog_," he mimicked in a high voice, before switching back to his normal one to put in his input in this scenario. "Oh you're _welcome _Rukia. I am a nice guy for-"

"You should stop talking to yourself," she interjected, giving him a snarky smile. "It's really getting bad since you seem to be answering back too."

He rolled his eyes before making his way up to his room to retrieve her bag. It was sitting there on his bed, untouched since he'd dropped it off after that disastrous trip to the mall. Really, he didn't understand how they hadn't noticed the exchange, now that he couldn't see the blatant difference in the size of their purchases. His gift for Yuzu was big and bulky, while Rukia's gift for whoever was thin and straining against the sides of the bag for room.

Strange. Ichigo really wanted to know what was in that bag now. Yet somehow, he managed to resist, bringing it down the stairs, only to be brought to the horror that was his father coaxing Rukia into singing Christmas songs with him, an extra elf hat resting on her head.

"-and we can drink eggnog and go caroling and wear costumes and make artwork…"

Isshin's list of Christmas things to do just seemed to go on and on and Rukia seemed to be eating all of that garbage right up. She was looking on so eagerly he almost felt bad about the fact that he had to kill the dream she'd conjured in her head.

He offered his father a quick no to his list, before dragging Rukia out of the house and onto the porch, ignoring Isshin's cries of how cruel his son is but how nice he is for trying to make him grandbabies with his third daughter who was "much too out of his league."

"What are you doing?" was the first thing he heard when the door shut. "We were going to go caroling and make artwork and-"

"No," he cut her off. "Just no. You know what you saw at the mall? That's "caroling." And artwork….we both know what's wrong with that in general, you're not good at it-"

"Hey!"

"Trust me; you just don't want to be dragged into participating."

"Why not? It sounds kind of fun."

"No," he insisted. "It _sounds_ crazy. It's not normal."

"It's _not normal_? That's your big excuse?" She snorted. "You live with your dad every day and he acts like this, right? And you're with him every Christmas and he acts like this, right?" Those were two nods. "So then how is it not normal? You live with it every day, all day. That sounds like the norm to me. Of course my normal is different than yours. We live different lives with different families. It only makes sense. You shouldn't write all of this off, just because everybody else doesn't experience it because everyone else isn't _you_."

Ichigo took a moment to absorb the words, stunned slightly at how…_smart_…yes, _smart_ this all sounded. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that, but he would internally note it. "I guess, you're kind of right."

"Oh, I know that, I mean I'm not being selfish like you are. There are children starving all over the world and you don't even want to carol with your family. They don't _even have_ families to carol with. And I bet you're going to complain about having to dress up in festive outfit for dinner too. They don't _even have_ dinner. Or festive outfits, let alone any outfits at all. They could be _starving_ and _clothing-less._ Can you believe that? You're complaining because you can't be _homeless _and _starving _and _poor_ and-"

He cut her off there, lips pressing gently against hers, kissing her until he could retrieve some sort of response only for them to be interrupted by the ringing of her phone. He groaned pulling back so she could answer it, enjoying her guilty looking flushed face as she stumbled to answer her phone.

"Byakuya!" Ah, yes. The man who loves to ruin everything between them. It was as if he had some way to tell whenever they had "crossed their bounds" as he so called it. He watched her listen to the man on the other line, face falling slightly with every second that passed before picking up towards the end of the conversation.

"I have to go," she let out, pocketing the phone. He nodded slowly, giving her a semi awkward hug that included him trying to hand her back his gift before she left, leaving him all alone on the porch. He waited it out a moment before going in to join his family inside, where his father was still insisting on them going caroling though it was much too late in the evening for that.

Ichigo's first reaction was to tell him to knock it off, which he followed through with. Though he found he just didn't have the heart to shoot the man down completely. "Eggnog," he relented finally. "I think we can do a cup of eggnog."

He endured Isshin's enthusiastic response to the simple suggestion, taking it upon himself to get the drink and cups out so they all could enjoy it. Yes, so they could enjoy it. He guessed if they were a normal family, this wouldn't consist of his dad trying to spike his drink before preaching the dangerous effects of alcohol to his sisters. Then again, he wasn't ever that normal to begin with, now was he?

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><p><strong>AN: Yay! First story done! Of course, I think it's a bit too sappy and all of that crap, but I supposed that's what writing while listening to Christmas music does to you. Plus by this time tomorrow I will have done my very first performance of A Christmas Carol. That's right, I'm in it and it's going to be great…I hope.<strong>


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